Juvenile Psychopaths
What is the "super predator"? He or she are young
hypercriminals who are committing acts of violence of unprecedented
coldness and brutality. This newest phenomena in the world of crime is
perhaps the most dangerous challenge facing society and law
enforcement ever. While psychopaths are not new, this breed of super
criminal exceeds the scope of psychopathic behavior. They are younger,
more brutal, and completely unafraid of the law. While current
research on the super predator is scarce, I will attempt to give an
indication as to the reasons a child could become just such a monster.
Violent teenage criminals are increasingly vicious. John
DiIulio, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton
University, says that "The difference between the juvenile criminals
of the 1950s and those of the 1970s and early 1980s was the difference
between the Sharks and the Jets of West Side Story and the Bloods and
the Crips. It is not inconceivable that the demographic surge of the
next ten years will bring with it young criminals who make the Bloods
and the Crips look tame." (10) They are what Professor DiIulio and
others call urban "super predators"; young people, often from broken
homes or so-called dysfunctional families, who commit murder, rape,
robbery, kidnapping, and other violent acts. These emotionally damaged
young people, often are the products of sexual or physical abuse. They
live in an aimless and violent present; have no sense of the past and
no hope for the future; they commit unspeakably brutal crimes against
other people, often to gratify whatever urges or desires drive them at
the moment and their utter lack of remorse is shocking.(9)
Studies reveal that the major cause of violent crime is not
poverty but family breakdown - specifically, the absence of a father
in the household. Today, right now, one-fourth of all the children in
the United States are living in fatherless homes - this adds up to 19
million children without fathers. Compared to children in two parent
family homes, these children will be twice as likely to drop out of
school, twice as likely to have children out of wedlock, and they
stand more than three times the chance of ending up in poverty, and
almost ten times more likely to commit violent crime and ending up in
jail. (1)
The Heritage Foundation - a Conservative think tank - reported
that the rise in violent crime over the past 30 years runs directly
This is a common argument people have to question Jefferson's true beliefs upon the basis of slavery. "Slavery is an abomination and must be loudly proclaimed as such, but I own that I nor any other man have any immediate solution to the problem," was another quote by Jefferson which set out his views towards slavery quite clearly. The interesting thing about this quote is that he acknowledged that there were no immediate ways to fix the problem of slavery. This possibly hinted that because he had no way to fix the issue of slavery, he would simply continue its practice much like men around him in society chose to
During the 18th Century America was dealing with independence from Europe and trying to establish them as a strong country. As far as government goes, a monarchal government was not in question. Many people saw great opportunity to step up and contribute ideas that will make America into the country of preference. One of these men was 3rd president and member of the original founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. While most Americans view Thomas Jefferson as an upstanding and honorable man, he was plagued with the moral contradiction of having fathered children with one of his slaves Sally Heming’s and as a result spurred a great deal of controversy. As a result of his action’s Jefferson’s virtuous demeanor is questioned and shows how hypocritical he is.
He wrote many times that salve ownership was directly against one’s personal and God given freedoms and liberties. On the contrary, he owned slaves and quite a few at that. Naturally, people are quick to label Mr. Jefferson a hypocrite because of this. But once you look deeper into Jefferson’s situation and his life you see some complications he would quickly run into if he were to release his slaves. During his lifetime, Jefferson was in a lot of debt and his slaves were his property. So his slaves acted as collateral to his debt. If he was to release his slaves then he would have run into some pretty heavy financial problems. I think that Jefferson had a big realization about deserved freedom for all humans but by the time he realized all of this it was too late. He already had an established life and if were to give it all up because of his realizations he would have been ruining his own life. He knew that he couldn’t do that to himself or his family. I don’t think we can stamp hypocrisy onto Mr. Jefferson. His heart was in the right place I think he might have just been too scared to completely give up his life for his beliefs because he knew what the consequences would
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
Jefferson was born to a prominent family of Virginia tobacco growers. Plantation life is based largely around the work of slaves, so Jefferson was surrounded by them from the time of his birth in 1743 until the day he died. One of the harshest criticisms of Jefferson comes from the fact that, while he vehemently opposed slavery, was indeed a slave owner himself. As historian Douglas L. Wilson points out in his Atlantic
Mental health treatment among juvenile is a subject that has been ignored by society for far too long. It has always been one of those intricate issues that lead to the argument of whether juveniles should receive proper treatment or imprisoned like any other criminals, and often trialed as adults. Many times, young people are often deprived of proper help (Rosenberg) However, we often overlook the fact that while they are criminals, they are still young, and fact or not, it is a matter of compassion that must be played from our side to help these youth overcome their harsh reality. As such, we do however see signs of sympathy shown towards juvenile. Juvenile health courts give help to youth to youth who have serious mental illness (Rosenberg). It is often asked in general, would mental health treatment cure juvenile criminals? In my opinion, when you look at the background of these young criminals, it is frequently initiated from negligence and feelings of betrayal (Browne and Lynch), of course leading to mental disorder. However, further zooming into their background, it is always proper treatment that saves them from their unfortunate circumstances. Research shows that giving juvenile criminals mental health treatment did not only reduce re-arrests but also further improve their ways of living among the society.
A child or an adolescent being diagnosed with psychopathy is a controversial concept and yet there are a number of studies that purport to assess psychopathic traits within these groups. This has stemmed from evidence that key symptoms of psychopathy (at least when looking into the histories of adult psychopathic patients) have been indicative of an early onset with symptoms beginning in childhood or early adolescence. (Johnstone & Cooke, 2004). Psychopathy, at least in adults, is a viable construct and is often indicative of criminality, violence, substance abuse and results in decidedly poorer responsivity to treatment and as such highlights the importance of recognizing these early symptoms and planning intervention and treatment strategies. (Johnstone & Cooke, 2004; Skeem, Monahan, & Mulvey, 2003; Hempill, Hare, & Wong, 1998; Salekin, Rogers & Sewell, 1996).
Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased juvenile delinquency? Simply put, we must create a means of measuring juvenile’s level of risk and in turn, form an effective rehabilitation program that will decrease their risk level for future recidivism.
Though crime, in general, is on the decline there are specific crimes and group offenders that are actually increasing. Specific crimes such as hate crimes, those crimes motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group, based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation, and juvenile crimes have become escalating debates. Lionel Tate, a 12-year-old boy at the time of his actions, is a suitable case to investigate. Using his case, I will address the increase in juvenile delinquency, the contributions to the malice acts, the severity of the crimes being committed by youth, and possible, yet reasonable repercussions.
Although living in a place where slavery was accepted, he called it "moral depravity" and believed that slavery presented the greatest threat to the survival of the new American nation. Jefferson wrote letters to his peers admitting that slavery is wrong and the he has a plan for emancipation.B In 1778, Jefferson drafted a Virginia law that prohibited the importation of enslaved Africans. In 1784, he proposed an ordinance that would ban slavery in the Northwest territories.2 Thomas Jefferson owned over 200 slaves and only freed few slaves upon his death. Jefferson treated his slaves well.3 Jefferson hardly ever allowed his slaves to be overworked or whipped. His slaves worked on his large plantation, he needed the slaves to raise his livestock and cash crops. Jefferson, although treating his slaves well, considered his slaves property.4 When he needed to he sold and bought them, he also punished the slaves that disobeyed him. Even though Jefferson opposed slavery, he still owned them at the same time making him a hypocrite.
The United States has always had criminals walking around the streets or locked up in an everyday life situation. Crimes are committed everyday by young children, adults, seniors, or any kind of man or woman that may look like a bad influence or others that look like innocent people walking down the streets who have never committed a crime before. Juveniles ages 7-15 should not be sentenced to life without parole for crimes they commit because it would not be fair for them to spend the rest of their lives in jail for committing a mistake. Reasons can be found on why juveniles should be left inside a cell and arguments can build up if people disagree with one another. Some adults commit crimes and are left with freedom after a satisfied amount
All three societies had some form of belief in higher powers such as gods and other polytheistic beliefs. Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt had more duties involving their beliefs compared to Greece because both of those societies had ways of taking care of their religious sites such as feeding the gods daily or cleaning the temple area daily whereas there was not a huge emphasis on daily chores for Greece. Each society had originated around an ecologically useful area. Greece had a better advantage when compared to Egypt and Mesopotamia because both were prone to flooding. The Nile in Egypt constantly overflowed or ran dry causing harm to those who lived off of the river. The laws of each society were very male centered. Men were dominant over women in each society, but women in Egypt and Greece had more rights than those of Mesopotamia. Egyptian women could sue and file for divorce while Greek women could get jobs and retain property. The men gained more repercussions in Greece seeing as how rape and adultery would initiate a fine in Athens and not joining the army in Sparta would make you lose citizenship and the right to marry. Each society was also governed in some way making them similar, but the way they were governed makes them different. Mesopotamia was ruled by whoever conquered them, Egypt was ruled by a king, and Greece also had a king or an elected official. Each society did have slaves in some way, along with lower class. Egypt and Greece gave the middle lower class the option to become somewhat of a higher class through education and money. Power was determined mainly by wealth, birth, and income in the societies in some shape or form. Military was more of an important focus in Egypt and Greece than in Mesopotamia. The family structure of each civilization is still male centered and the male typically controls the family. Marriage and divorce is common in all
... reduce natural gas consumption. Long-term I am committed to installing new energy efficient windows to truly reduce energy consumption. To help reduce the family’s water consumption we recently installed an energy efficient washing machine that uses over 60% less water than the previous model that was installed. As an additional means in which to help conserve water I will be installing a rain barrel in the summer to water our outdoor plants. While these actions might not seem significant, they can make a significant difference. According to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, in just one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.
Abounding similarities exist between the Mesopotamian and Greek societies. As history progresses many cultural advances occur, but societies also adopt some of the same characteristics as preceding societies, you will notice this between the Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations. After learning about the Greek civilizations I immediately began generating connections to Mesopotamian societies. I noticed similarities in all aspects of society, whether it was religion, military, architecture or any other cultural idiosyncrasies.
Household energy conservation is a very practical and realistic approach to conserving energy within our society. US households consume a tremendous amount of natural gas as well as electric energy. It has been calculated that the amount of energy consumed within the US increased exponentially from about 1850 to 1975. If energy continued to increase at this rate, we would be experiencing severe energy shortages in our current society. Luckily, steps towards conservation, including various energy regulations, have curbed that growth somewhat, brining the predicted 160 Qbtu/yr for the year 2000 down to around 93.8 Qbtu/yr by the year 1996. However, household energy usage is still a major issue as households consume about 38% of the total consumed energy and contribute greatly to natural gas consumption and issues such as global warming. Therefore, it is important that people understand how we use energy in the household and what steps can be taken to conserve that energy.